chariots (was: AIT, NEW genetic evidence)

[Rajarshi Banerjee]

MW> ........... one has to compare
them with the slightly later Sanchi & Barhut sculptures (as shown in
Sparreboom).  One of them is on the cover of our Bronkhorst/Deshpande
"Aryan/Non_Aryan" volume (HOS-OM 3).

RB> Many thanks to MW and SM, I finally checked out sparebooms book.
depiction of relistic chariots in India is indeed very rare.
Slightly later??, well the sanchi chariots are atleast a millenia later than
the vedic chariot as the author himself says. There is also some rock art
from MP depicting chariots which cannot be reliabaly dated. Sparreboom alo
notes that unlike the near east where chariots are were used in large
numbers for tactical warfare in the defence of large city states or empires,
the vedic chariots role and manner of use can only be conjectured at. He
highlights their use in rituals and cattle raids. At later times their
presence in rituals is just symbolic.

MW> Well, the RV mentions, e.g., a thousand horses 9.78.2,  or hundreds and
thousands of horses as gift  at 6.63.10,  thousand cows and horses  at
1.29.1 ---  RV  8.46.29 has 60,000 horses, the same at 8.26.21:  60,000
horses, 2000 camels, 1000 mares.... in a daanastuti.
Even taking into account the usual predilection of poets for hyperbole
(Indira-zatakam of 1977 CE !!), LOTS  horses are quite apparent here.

RB> Hyperbole is right.

MW> I suggest the reading of some texts and the occasional monograph before
speculating and extrapolating on this list...

RB> I read your monograph regarding the expansion of the kurus. It does
describe a non urban setting with cattle raids and social/political
uplifment by performing rituals and RITUAL WARFARE. So my speculation is not
off the mark. Compared to the near east there was a power vaccum and wars
were not very frequent. Maybe because of that, major wars like the
mahabharata war were a big deal and stuck permanently in every ones memory.

regards RB